Truck elevator



vR. A. PENNEY TRUCK ELEVATOR Filed June 2, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet lRAYMONDA. Pemmev @5% QM/Q/HM/ A922 A Dw 4,11945. R. AfPENNEY 2,390,268

TRUCK ELEVATOR Filed June 2, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 RAYHoquo A. Penn"@541 CML-bf'r R. A. PENNEY TRUCK ELEVATOR Dec. 4,

Filed June 2, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Syvum/viuz `vated position.

UN l TEDI STATS\rP'TjII` `4 'FFF v 2,390,258 A TRUCK ELEVATOB f RaymndA. Penney, Minneapolis, Minn., assigner to St. Paul Hydraulic HoistlCompanLMinneapols, Minn., a corporation of Michigan l Application Junoa, i944, serial No. 5323.495

`9 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in loading and unloadingelevators for trucks.

The invention further relates to,l and has as load is rolled or slidonto the truck floor, 'and relieving the lifting-.hoist ofthe load.Still another object is to provide an improved construction of the mainlifting roll yas used in such devices making it adjustable to"fit trucksof various types.

These and other objects of the invention win be made apparent in thecourse of the following its primary object, the improvement of that typei detailed specification forming a part hereof, and 1 in which referenceis made to the accompanying drawings wherein- Fig. 1 is a side elevationof the rear portion of a truck equipped with the load elevator of myinvention and showing Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of theforward portion of the hoist and associated parts, taken substantiallyalong the line 2--2 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a rear end view of the truck as shown inFig. 1.

Fig. '4 is an enlarged fragmentary detailed view of the forward end ofthe hoist and 'showing the latch mechanism. i

Fig. 5 is an enlarged longitudinal and vertical section along theline5--5 in Fig. 3, showing the elevator in its lowered position.

Referring Vnow more particularly andby reference characters to thedrawings, A designates "generally a truck having the usual chassis Bover which is mounted a truck body C open at its rear end D and adaptedto be closed thereat by a tail gate E. Said tail` gate E alsoconstitutes 'the load carrier or platform by which the truck is loadedand unloaded, and for this purpose the tail gate may be swung downwardlyto the horizontal position shown and there supported by chains Fconnected between rear corners of the gate and upper ends of sidemembers G. The truck chassis B .is conventional in form and includes theusual longitudinal beams 6 and 'I above the same in its elet which thebed 8 of the truck body C is supported in any conventional manner.

Each side member G is pivotally connected at 9 and I0 to therearswinging ends of upper and lower arms I I and I2. The forward end of thearm` I2 is secured rigidly to the ends of a transversely extending rollor rock shaft I3 which is supported below the truck body C near the rearend thereoin brackets I4. The brackets I4 are four in number as hereshown, and are secured at upper ends to the bed 8 while at lower endsthey have bearings `I5 in which the roll I3 is- I directly above. theroll I3 at about the same sp acing as that existing between the pivots 9and I0. and that the arms .II and I2 will therefore have a parallel linkmotion such that the tail gate E may be raised and lowered byoscillating the roll I`3 while maintaining the. tail gate substantiallyhorizontal at all elevations.

For oscillating the roll I3 I provide a conventional hydraulic hoistunit, designated generally at I8, which comprises ,a cylinder I9supported rigidly on Vthe chassis B by means Yof brackets 20 and anangle 2|. inder I9.is a plunger 22 and the cylinder is arranged4lengthwise on the chassis B with this plunger, directed rearwardlytoward and at an elevation above the roll I3. Fluid under pressure isprovided for actuating the plunger 22 by a conventional pump4 23.operated from th'e truck engine, and the fluid is admitted to either endof the cylinder in `a conventional fashion u nder i control of avalve2,4. The valve 24 ispositioned` by meansof an arm 25 `to which isconnected one end of an operating rodl 26, as shown at 21. The operatingrod 26 extends rearwardly beneath the truck body C and is pivotallyconnected-at Vits rear end 28 to a lever arm 29 which is secured to thevinner end of a transversely extending shaft 30 journaled inthe bed 8.The outer end of the shaft 30 is equipped with a hand lever 3| disposedalongside thebody-C. and it will be evident that 'by swinging the handlever forwardly and rearwardly the operating rod 26 may be reciprocatedto swing the arm 25 and actuate valve 24. As here shown, movement of thehand lever toward the forward end of the truck actuates the valve -24 toadmit fluid-tn .the rear end of the hoist cylinder I9 and draw theplunger 22 inwardly or in a forward direction. Movement Slidably mountedin the cyl.`

operation, causing the plunger 22 to be projected in a rearwarddirection from the cylinder;` while positioning the lever 3l in acentral/or holding position will cause the hoist to hold the plunger 22in any position during its forward and rearward movement.

A wire cable 32 is secured at its forward end by a conventional coupling33 to the rear `encl of the hoist plunger 22, and extendsrearwardtherefrom over an operating member or sector 34. The sector 34 issecured rigidly to the center of the roll I3 and has a curved track 35located between side anges 36, which track is concentric with the axisof the roll I3. The cable 32 is secured as indicated at 32e' to arearcorner portion of the sector 34, and it will be obvious that with thecable 32 of proper length the forward or inward movement of the hoistplunger 22 will pull on said cable to oscillate the sector 34 and rollI3 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1. 'I'he arms II and I2will thus be swung upwardly and the tail gate E raised to the level ofthe bed 8 of truck body C, and in this position the plunger 22 is drawninwardly into the hoist cylinder nearly to the limit of such movement.On the other hand, the rearward or outward movement of the hoist plunger22 will pay out the cable 32 enabling the sector 34 and roll I3 tooscillate in a counterclockwise direction to lower the arms II and I2and tail gate E, and in this operation the cable will come to rest aboutthe curved track 35 as seen in Fig. 5.

In the operation of the structure as thus far described, it will beevident that the manipula-` tion of the control lever 3I will permit thetail gate E'to be raised or lowered as required. Thus in loadingthetruck the tail gate E may be lowered to ground level and heavy boxes,crates or the like may be pushed thereon without lifting. Then byraising the tail gate E it will act as a load carrier, lifting thearticles up to the level of the bed 8 of the truck body, and they maythen be rolled or 'slid into the body without great effort. .Obviouslythe truck may be unloaded with equal ease. When not in use as a loadcarrier or platform the tail gate E may be readily folded upwardly andforwardly to close the rear end D of the truck body in the usual manner.

It is desirable that with the load in its maximum elevated position asseen in Fig. 1v some means be provided to lock the lift mechanism andrelieve the hoist I8 of the strain of holding the load in this position.This is particularly true where, as is frequently the case, the truck isdriven from place to place with a part of the load proz jecting over andsupported on the tail gate. For this purpose I provide a latchmechanism, designated generally at 31, and comprisinga latch member 38and a stop member 39. As best shown in Fig. 4, the stop member 39 isthreaded on the cable coupling 33which is in turn threaded into a tappedlbore 40 formed in the rear end of the plunger 22. The stopmember 39 iscircular and has a rear face 4I which is hollowed out and anglesforwardly toward the center on all sides. The latch member 38 ispivotally mounted by a pin 42 on an ear 43 formed on the rear end of thecylinder I9, and from this point the latch member extends in a rearwarddirection substantially parallel with thepath, of plunger 22 and has ahook 44 turned inwardly to engage the face 4I of stop member 39. Thelatch member has an arm 45 extending outwardfrom its pivoted end, andbraced between this arm 45 and a lug46 on the hoist cylinder I9 is anexpansion CFI coil spring 41 which biases the latch member in adirection such as to swing its rear end toward 'the plunger 22, thismovement being limited by y viouslyy be locked against Vrearwardmovement,

holding the tail gate E ush with the bed 8 of t the truck body, andrelieving the uhoist I 8 o f the load.

To swing the latch member 38 clear of stop member 39 I provide a link 5Iwhich is pivotally connected at a forward end 52 to the valve operatingarm 25 and which, at its rear end, is slidably mounted through anopening 53 formed in the' arm 45. Rearwardly of the opening 53l the link5I is provided with lock nuts 54 which act as an adjustable stop.Assuming now that the valve operating arm 25 is. moved forwardly inorder to pay out the cable 32, as indicated in Fig.

' 2, it will be obvious that this movement wilLexert a pull upon thelink'5l. With the lock nuts 54 properly adjusted the pull on the link 5Iwill oscillate the latch member 38 in such direction as to swing thehook 44 clear of stop member 39. Thus it will be evident that the normalmovement of the hand lever 3|l in a direction forlowering the load willautomatically disengage the latch, and it will be understood,` ofcourse, that the latch is actually disengaged by the initial part ofthe-movement of the hand lever 3| and prior to the opening of the valve 24to project the plunger 22 in a rear direction.. It may here be noted,however, that' the angularly. engaging faces of' the latch hook 44 andstop 39, while providing a positive latching effect at that point, havea tendency to seize under a load, making it difficult to free the hookfrom the stop member. I find, however, that this tight frictionalengagement may be broken, so that the latch member may swing freely awayfrom the stop member 39, by simply moving the hand lever 3l first in adirection to raise the load before it is swung in the opposite directionto lower the same. This action has the effect of admittingfluid to therear end I of the cylinder I9, causing the plunger 22 to move forwardlya slight amountto free the hook from the face 4I of the stop member, asindicated in Fig. 4. Then as the lever is swung in the oppositedirection, the latch 38 will be swung clear before the stop member comesinto tight engagement with the hook 44 again. Only a very slight forwardmovement of the plunger 22 is required,

of course, and the wire cable 32 willvbe found seen in Fig. 3.- andcomplete "with separate end sections 56 and 51 which telescope into theends of center section 55 as clearly indicated in the drawings. In theinstallation of the roll, the end sections 56 and 51 may be movedinwardly or outwardly to form a roll of an over-all length suitable toany particular truck and the parts may then be anchored solidly togetherby any suitable means such as the welds indicated at 58, causing thevario-us roll sections 55,56 and 51 to operate as a unit.

It is understood that suitable modifications may be made `in thestructure as disclosed, provided vention, what I claim to be new anddesire to protect by Letters Patent is: y

1. In a load raising and lowering mechanism for a truck. a. membermovable in a lengthwise direction with respect to the truck and anactuating means for said member for moving the same vin eitherdirection, a load handling device operatively connected to said memberand adapted to be raised and lowered with respect to the truck inresponse to opposite movements of said member, and latch meansreleasabfy engageable with said movable member as it substantiallycompletes its movement in one direction to raise the load, said latchmeans being operative when engaged to lock the movable member againstmovement in the opposite direction to thereby maintain the load in araised'position whilerelieving said actuating means of strain.`

2. In a truck load raising and lowering mechanism of the characterdescribed, a load carrier, a cable connected t raise and lower saidcarrier, a hoist unit connected to one end of the cable for pulling thecable in one direction for raising the load and paving out the cable inan opposite direction to lower the londe stop member rigid Having nowface oi' the stop member may be counteracted by actuating the plunger inan inward direction to slightly stretch the cable and pull the stopmember clear of the hook preliminary to swinging the latch clear tolower the load.

5. In a truck loading mechanism, a hoist unit having a plunger, a cableconnected to the-plungergaload carrier operated by the cable and adaptedto be raised by a pull on the cable and lowered `by paying out thecable, a stop member on the cable having an angular face, a, swingablelatch member having a hook adapted to engage over said anguar face ofthe stop member as the cable is pulled to raise the load, andcontrolmeans forthe hoist including a swngable arm and a-link connectedbetween the arm and latch member to release the latter from the stopmember as said arm is swung in one direction to pay out the cable.

6. In a truck loading mechanism, a hoist unit having a plunger. a cableconnected to the plunger, a. load carrier operated by the cable andadapted to be raised by a pull onthe cable and a hook adapted to engageover said stop member- Y as the cable is pulled to raise the load, andcontrol with respect to the cable. and a latch' member adapted toautomaticallvensage said stop member as the load is raised and to holdthe cable against paying out.

3. In a truck load raising'andlowering mechanism of the characterdesc'ibd. a load carrier,

y a. cable connected to raise and lower said carrier,

and a hoist unit connected to one end ofthe cable for pulling the cablein one direction for raising the load and paying out the cable in anopposite direction to lower the load. a stop member rigid with respectto the cable, a latch member adapted to automatically engage sairistopmember as the load is raised and to hold the cable against paying out. acontrol lever for the hoist unit and movable to one position to causethe hoist to pay out the cable and to another position to cause thehoist unit to pull 0n said cable, and means operative by movement ofsaid control lever toward a position for paying out the cable todisengage said latch member from said stop member.

4. `The combination with a truck loading mechanism o! the character'described including a hoist unit having a plunger and a flexible cableconnected at one end thereto and atits other end operatively'arranged toraise a load in response to a pull exerted by the inward movement of theplunger and to lower the load as the plunger` moves outward, of a latchmechanism comprising a stop member securedrigidly with respect to thecable and plunger and having a beveled tace. a pivotaliy supported latchhaving a hooked end ladapted to engage said beveled face of the stopmember as the plunger is drawn inward and the load raised substantiallyto highest position and to lock the cable against paying out to lowerthe load, means for swinging said latch to release said stop member andpermit the load to be lowered, and the arrangement being such that thetendency of the latch hook to seize on the beveled means for the hoistincluding a swingable arm and a link connected between the arm and latchmember adapted to swingthe latch member in one direction to release thehook from said stop member as the arm is swung to a position for payingout the cable. said link being freely slidable with respect to the latchmember as the arm is swung to an opposite position for pulling in thecable.

7. In a truck loading mechanism oi.' the character described, atransverse roll rotatably supported from the truck. a load carriersupported from the roll and adapted to be raised and lowered byoscillation of said roll, and said roll comprising a tubular centersection and separate Aend sections adapted to be telescoped at innerends into said center section to adjust the overall length of the rollaccording `to the width of the truck and when thus adjusted secured tosaid center section to turn as a unit therewith.

v 8. In a truck loading mechanism of the character described, a loadcarrier, a hoist unit having a cable connected to said carrier forraising and lowering the same in response to opposite movements of thecable, a control member movable in opposite directions for controllingsaid hoist unit. latch means operative to automatically lock the loadcarrier in a raised position as it reaches said latch means.

matically as the load carrier is raised to lock it e in a raisedposition, a control memberior the hoist unit movable in one direction toraise the load carrier and in an opposite direction to lower the same,and means operative by movement of the control member in the lastmentioned direction for automatically disengaging said latch mechanism.i

, RAYMOND A. PENNEY.

